Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a local television outlet on Thursday that regime change in Iran lies with the “Iranian people alone,” though he appeared to admit Israel was making it easier for them.
The Times of Israel reported on Netanyahu’s Hebrew-language interview with the Kan public broadcaster:
Netanyahu still would not say whether assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini is on the table. He repeated his stance that regime change lies with the “Iranian people alone,” but added, “We’re also striking government targets, symbols of the regime. You’ve seen it — the broadcast station and others. And there’s more to come.”
“We are doing everything necessary — and there will still be much more,” the premier continued, saying Israel is also targeting the Basij paramilitary militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, known for suppressing dissent in Iran.
“We’re also striking the Basij… this kind of internal police force of a million people. We’ve inflicted heavy damage, and we will continue to strike their targets,” Netanyahu said.
American critics of the war, and of potential U.S. entry into it, have said that they do not want another “regime change” war, or another “forever war,” fearing an Iraq- or Afghanistan-style commitment in Iran.
Netanyahu has called for the Iranian people to stand up for their freedom, but he has not called for, nor asked the Trump administration to join in, an effort to knock over Ayatollah Khamenei’s regime from the outside.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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